Bergen County-Based Baker Of Famous Cookies Needs Kidney Transplant

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — Thomas Minardi spends nearly 11 hours each night hooked up to a dialysis machine in his Franklin Lakes home, while waiting for someone to donate a kidney.

Minardi, who grew up in Paterson and Woodland Park, has three adult children and two grandsons, 5 and 2 and a half.

"I'm not ready to kick the bucket," said the 65-year-old grandpa in an interview on Thursday. "The rest of me is pretty good. I want to see them grow up. I want to see my other daughter get married. My son is getting married in November."

"Thomas wants to watch them grow, laugh, and reach milestones big and small," said Donna Tissot, Minardi’s kidney advocate.

Minardi was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2018. He says he had little warning before his diagnosis.

"I never smoked, never drank, didn't have diabetes," he told Patch. "I had a bad sore throat years ago that I never went to the doctor for. That might have caused it....Once the damage is done to your kidneys, they get progressively worse. Kidneys don't talk to you until they're almost done."

Minardi's kidneys failed in 2019. He found a donor and was ready to have transplant surgery in 2020.

Then, the person backed out because of the pandemic, he said.

TV news stations aired a story about the dilemma, and a woman offered to donate her kidney, but wanted to remain anonymous.

Minardi says he still doesn't know who she is.

He had successful surgery in 2020, but dealt with complications last year. Now he needs a new living kidney donor.

Minardi, who graduated from Montclair State University in 1983, said he has worked his whole life — in fact, the reason he undergoes dialysis each night is that he works during the day.

His family's cookies, Mama Minardi, have been sold since 1927. These days, the company mainly distributes them to supermarkets.

"I'm just looking for a very kind person who wants to contribute a good kidney," Minardi said.

Minardi is listed for a transplant at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack. If you or someone you know is interested in being evaluated as a living donor, you can visit: http://hmh.donorscreen.org/register/now (Please indicate that you're a prospective donor for Thomas Minardi.)

All blood types are accepted, as Hackensack participates in the paired kidney exchange program.